The eighth-ranked Jennies (13-2, 7-1 MIAA) are seeking their second-consecutive victory when they travel to Maryville, Mo. to face the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats on Saturday, Jan. 18 at Bearcat Arena. Junior forward
Revonnia Howard enjoyed her best game as Jennie, scoring a career-high 23 points to go along with 6 rebounds in a 71-65 win against Missouri Western. Northwest Missouri is 5-10, 2-6 in MIAA play, following an 84-72 loss at Southwest Baptist on Jan. 16. Junior guard Ariel Easton leads the Bearcats in scoring with 15.9 points per game.
Last Time Out
Junior forward
Revonnia Howard scored a career-best 23 points, eight of them coming in the first four minutes of the game en route to a 71-65 win over Missouri Western on Wednesday night. Howard's quick scoring helped the Jennies jump out to an early 12-2 lead.
The Griffons (5-9, 1-7 MIAA) scored eight of the game's next 10 points to cut the UCM lead to 14-10 in the next 1:35. However, the Jennies bumped the lead back to nine courtesy of a layup by
Quinnecia Twine and a three-pointer by
Shelby Winkelmann with 12:34 left in the half.
Missouri Western pulled to within a basket at 20-18 with just under eight minutes left, capped off by a layup by Shamiece Lewis.
The two teams exchanged baskets over the next four possessions, putting the game at 24-22. The Jennies ended the half on a 7-2 run to take a 31-24 lead into halftime. In the first 20 minutes, UCM scored 13 points off of Missouri Western turnovers.
Out of the gate in the second half, the Griffons outscored UCM, 8-2 to cut the deficit to one at 33-32, but that was as close as MWSU came to tying the contest. The Jennies scored seven unanswered points to pull away by eight at 40-32 with 14:14 remaining in the game.
Missouri Western's Jallisa Lewis splashed a three to pull the Griffons back to within five, but UCM responded with a 10-3 stretch, led by six from
Keuna Flax, who capped the run off with a three-point play, bumping the lead to a dozen.
An 8-1 run by the Griffons over the next 2:18 helped the Griffons make it a two-possession game at 51-46. The Jennies were able to hold off Missouri Western en route to a 15-9 run with 2:24 on the clock to seal the victory.
Slifer By The Numbers
Slifer is 34th on the all-time wins list for all division coaches with 566.
Slifer is sixth among all Division II coaches with 566 wins and is eighth among all Division II coaches with a .740 winning percentage.
Slifer earned his 560th career win in UCM's last game on Dec. 5 against Fort Hays State.
Flax More Than Just A Scorer
Senior
Keuna Flax has led the Jennies in rebounds in three of the past five games. She pulled down 12 against Nebraska-Kearney, a career-high of 15 at Pittsburg State and eight against Missouri Western. Flax's 8.2 rebounds per contest is first on the team (Howard is averaging 8.0). Flax is also one of just two players (Howard) to pull down at least one offensive board in all 15 games this season.
Starting Out Fast
In the first half of games, the Jennies are outscoring their opponents, 583-473. UCM is 12-0 when leading at halftime.
First Half Free Throw Success
In the first half of the past 10 games, UCM is knocking down at least 61% of their free throws. In only two of those games (at Arkansas Tech, vs. Missouri Western) the Jens have shot below 50% from the charity stripe in the game's second half (44.4% against Arkansas Tech, 46.7% against Missouri Western).
Moving The Ball Around
The Jennies have recorded at least 11 assists in the past seven games. Flax has either led or been tied for the team-lead in assists in four of those contests.
Opposing Team's Rebounding
In the past three games, at least one opposing player has pulled down 10 rebounds or more. In the four games prior from Dec. 19-Jan. 6, no opposing player had more than eight rebounds in a game.
Bench Numbers
In the past four games, the Jennies' bench has been outscored 128-58, for an average of 32-14.5 points per game.
Senior guard
BreAnna Lewis registered 88 three-pointers during the 2012-13 season. The 88 shots made from beyond the three-point arc placed her second on the Jennies' single-season list (four behind Jessica Burkholder in 1996-97 season).
Through 15 games this season, Lewis has sank 30 three-pointers, reaching five twice this season. She has recorded at least one three-pointer in 12 of 15 games (none against FHSU, WU and MWSU). The 30 three-pointers puts her three-point career total to 118 – eighth on the Jennies' all-time list and 10 behind Ashley Millham.
Winkelmann Playing Strong
After leading the Jennies offense during the first eight games of the 2012-13 season, freshman
Shelby Winkelmann suffered a
season-ending injury during the win over Dixie State on Dec. 18, 2012. Winkelmann was averaging 17.6 points and 5.4 rebounds per game, the Jennies' leading scorer at the time.
Last season, Winkelmann recorded the third-highest scoring output in a game in Jennies history with 42 against Emporia State on Dec. 8.
Winkelmann is third on the team with an average of 12.0 points (66-of-156 from the floor) through 15 games this season. She has reached double-figures in scoring in 12 of 15 contests.
Defensive Spark Off The Bench
Junior
Justina Prairie Chief has made her presence felt on the team's second unit, leading all bench players in rebounds with 74 (25 offensive). She set a new career-high with nine rebounds in a 94-76 win at Central
Oklahoma on Dec. 19, logging 19 minutes.
Holding Down The Frontcourt
Junior
Revonnia Howard has started this season at forward, taking the place of the graduated
Nicole Caddell, the program's eighth all-time leading rebounder (704).
Howard is averaging 10.0 points and 8.0 rebounds through 15 games this season. She has a team-leading 41 offensive boards. She recorded her first double-double of the season
on Nov. 26 against Evangel with a 16-point, 13-rebound performance. Howard set new career-highs with 14 rebounds and five blocked shots against Washburn on Jan. 6.
The Lone Freshman
Freshman guard
Andee Wahlert is the only freshman on the Jennies' roster. The St. Joseph, Mo. native and Benton High School product was a four-year varsity letterwinner on the girls varsity team at Benton and served as a three-time captain. Wahlert is averaging 2.1 points and 0.5 rebounds in 11.5 minutes per game this season. She also has eight steals and 28 assists (season-high of 4 against Evangel on Nov. 26) while shooting 46.2% from three-point range (6-of-13).
Embray's Defense
Junior guard
Breonna Embray was a defensive staple for the Jennies in tight games last season. In games decided by four points or less, the Jennies finished 9-1 with Embray on the floor. Embray is averaging 15.5 minutes this season, making 4-of-14 field goals. Embray has been on the floor in the Jennies' only game decided by four points or less this season (88-86 overtime win at Pittsburg State).
Twine Continues To Shine
Senior guard
Quinnecia Twine has been coming off the bench with Winkelmann back in the starting five. The Atlanta, Ga. native started 22 games, averaging 7.7 points, including a 24-point, eight-rebound performance back on Feb. 7 against Central Oklahoma last season.
This season, Twine has played in 13 games, averaging 7.4 points, shooting 32-of-81 from the floor (39.5%) and has seven steals and 14 assists. Her 7.4 points per game is the highest among Jennies bench players.
Excelling in the Classroom
The Jennies experienced plenty of success both on and off the court last season with seven MIAA Academic Honor Roll selections, for earning at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA.
Junior
Kiersten Orton and freshman
Shelby Winkelmann each won the the MIAA Academic Excellence Award, which recognizes student-athletes with a 4.0 GPA. The award was the third for Orton.
MIAA Preseason Polls
After a second-place regular season finish a year ago, the Jennies debuted at No. 1 in the 2013-14 MIAA Preseason Media Poll, and No. 2 in the Coaches Poll. The Jennies enter the season ahead of Fort Hays State in both polls, after finishing ahead of the Tigers in the final 2012-13 MIAA Standings and eliminating FHSU in the MIAA Tournament semifinals. UCM tallied fewer votes than Emporia State in the preseason coaches poll, but garnered more points than the Lady Hornets in the preseason media poll. Washburn, who finished in first place in last year's regular season standings, but were eliminated in the MIAA Tournament semifinals by Emporia State, were picked to finish third in both the preseason coaches and media poll. Fort Hays State and Pittsburg State placed fourth and fifth to round out the top five teams in both polls.
UCM in the Polls
The Jennies dropped two spots to No. 8 in this week's WBCA/USA Today Sports Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll, garnering 548 points. The basketball program has appeared in the Top 25 for 23-consecutive weeks dating back to January 8 of last season. UCM went 2-1 last week, defeating Washburn and Pittsburg State, while falling at No. 3 Emporia State. The Jennies saw a 28-point dropoff from last week's Top 25 poll. The Jennies are one of three MIAA schools in the Top 25 (Emporia State at No. 3, Fort Hays State at No. 23). UCM and Emporia State appear in the Top-25 for the eighth-straight week. The Jennies are 3-2 against teams currently in Top 25 (wins against Minnesota State, Rollins College and Fort Hays State; losses against Harding and Emporia State).
UCM Program History
The UCM Jennies are 862-357 (.707) after 43 seasons, and 661-268 (.711) in the 31 seasons since joining NCAA Division II ... the Jennies have won 9 MIAA regular season championships, 7 MIAA Tournament titles, 6 NCAA regional titles, and the 1984 NCAA Division II Championship.
Series History with Northwest Missouri
Central Missouri leads the all-time series, 60-25 and has won the last three meetings against the Bearcats ... The Jennies are 19-16 all-time against Northwest Missouri in Maryville ... The Jennies won the only game against the Bearcats last year in Warrensburg, 60-52.
A Win for the Jennies Would...
... improve the Jennies' conference record to 8-1 ... extend the Jennies' win streak against NWMSU to four games ... bump the Jennies' road record to 6-2.
A Loss for the Jennies Would...
... be the third loss of the 2013-14 season ... drop the Jennies conference record to 7-2 ... snap the Jennies' three-game win streak against the Bearcats ... be the first loss to Northwest Missouri in Maryville since Jan. 12, 2011 ... give
Dave Slifer his 100th loss as head coach of the UCM program.
Jennies on the Air
Central Missouri women's basketball can be caught throughout the season on 98.5 "The BAR," 1450 KOKO, and warrensburgradio.com as Greg Hassler provides play-by-play.
Fans can catch highlights each week on Central Missouri Sportspage, Thursday nights at 7 p.m., and Saturdays at 5 p.m. on KMOS-TV. Jennies fans can also tune in to 98.5 "The Bar" and 1450 KOKO each Tuesday morning at 9:30 a.m. for Central Missouri Sports Talk, with Greg Hassler and Bill Turnage. The pair will talk UCM athletics, as well as other hot topics in the sports world. Jennies coaches and players will drop in throughout the season as well.
